Yellowstone!

June 9 – 19, 2023

Breaking up the trip from Theodore Roosevelt NP to Yellowstone NP, we spent a couple of nights at Billings Village RV Park.  Just a few miles before reaching Billings, we couldn’t resist making an impromptu stop at Pompeys Pillar.  On July 25, 1806, Captain William Clark carved his signature into the side of this 150-foot-tall sandstone pillar.  Clark journaled that, from the top, he “had the most extensive view in every direction on the Northerly Side of the river”.  This inscription is the only remaining physical evidence along the Lewis and Clark Trail!  Clark was accompanied by Sacagawea and her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau for this portion of the expedition.  Clark’s nickname for this young child was Pompey, whom he named the pillar after!  More than 200 years ago, this sandstone outcropping was much larger.  Evidence of erosion is the fact that Clark’s signature is now impossible to reach!  Fortunately for visitors, there is a boardwalk that takes you past this historic signature.  I have to agree with Clark that the view from the top is stunning!  It was fun looking down upon the Yellowstone River, envisioning Clark, Sacagawea, Pompey and the rest of the expedition making their way on the river below.  

 

Most of our time in Billings was spent on chores (doing laundry, stocking up on groceries, and generally getting ready to camp for a week at Fishing Bridge Campground, located in the center of Yellowstone.  However, we did manage to fit in a visit to Angry Hank’s microbrewery, Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, and a quick drive past Rhonda’s (a good friend from St. Paul) childhood home.  We sent Rhonda a photo of this beautiful home, reassuring her it continues to be well cared for!

Our 47th sticker is on!

Yellowstone is nothing less than AMAZING!  Actually, all of the national parks we have been to have been so great!  You just can’t go wrong spending time at any of them; however, this very first national park (in the world!) is a “must do”!

Entering from the East Entrance

Although Yellowstone has several campgrounds, Fishing Bridge is their only RV park.  This campground has been newly renovated and really provides for a wonderful visit.  Full hookups, paved sites and plenty of room between sites – all in the very center of the park.  Perfect!

To top it off, we were joined by Brandon, Anne, Josh, Eva and Zoe for this section of our journey!  You know how everything seems to taste better outdoors? Well, add having family with you to that mix and you have a recipe that simply can’t be beat!

Chicken Fajita's for dinner!

Before the kids joined us, Dick and I explored Fishing Bridge a bit.  This bridge was a very popular fishing spot up until the 1970s.  People would line up shoulder-to-shoulder on both sides of the bridge bringing in unlimited numbers of Cutthroat Trout.  In fact, it was such tight quarters the park posted health care workers at each end of the bridge who were kept busy removing fishing hooks from people’s faces.  We’ve all seen the maps where you place a thumbtack on your hometown, right?  Well, the hospital kept a map and placed a fishhook in each new state a visitor came from who went home with a souvenir fishhook scar!  By 1973, the Cutthroat Trout population was dangerously low and fishing from this bridge was no longer allowed.

In addition to talking to rangers and doing a little planning, Dick and I hiked Storm Point trail.  It was a beautiful day for this two-mile plus trail that takes you through an open meadow, past Indian Pond, through a thick forest, and out to scenic Storm Point before looping back to the parking lot via the forest. 

 

Once Brandon’s family arrived, we also hiked the Pelican Creek trail located only a half mile from Fishing Bridge.  It was a short, 0.6-mile loop that took us through the woods and out to Yellowstone Lake.  The kids had so much fun skipping rocks and playing along the shoreline!  The view across the lake of the snowcapped mountains was eye candy!

Our biggest surprise at Fishing Bridge was Saturday afternoon.  We had been to the newly reopened visitor center where Josh and Eva became Junior Rangers.  On our way back to the parking lot, we walked past the amphitheater, where a small crowd had gathered.  Looking a bit more closely, we realized Mass had just started!  We were thrilled to have heard God calling us and quickly joined in on this wonderful opportunity to thank God for all of the blessings He has bestowed on us!

Located only a few miles from Fishing Bridge is Bridge Bay, where Yellowstone Lake’s marina is located.  We took full advantage of this marina, taking a sunset scenic cruise one evening and a guided fishing trip the next morning!

During the one-hour cruise, we learned a lot about the lake and the park’s history.  It was during this cruise we learned in the 1980s someone illegally introduced Lake Trout into the lake.  Just as the Cutthroat Trout were beginning to make a comeback from being overfished, the invasive Lake Trout began taking them out again.  The park has taken many measures to protect Cutthroat Trout, including only allowing you to fish with barbless hooks and only for Lake Trout.  If you catch a Cutthroat, you have to release it.  If you catch a Lake Trout, you either have to keep it or kill it.  It cannot be released back into the lake alive.  

The next morning, on our guided fishing trip, we did our best to help those Cutthroat Trout out!  Josh was the first one to get a fish on the line, but it got away.  Eva had the same experience before another one got away from Josh.  Oh, the highs and lows!  Getting close to the end of our two-hour trip, Brandon managed to get a Lake Trout on the line and brought it in!  His luck continued, catching a second Lake Trout! Just as the guide called out “Last cast!”, Josh started reeling in his line, only to snag another Lake Trout!  This one he managed to keep on the line – and it was the biggest one of all!  Oh, the memories this day holds!

Of course, all of this happens to fall on Brandon and Anne’s 16th anniversary.  We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to go out for dinner.  It just so happens that Yellowstone’s Lake Hotel was nearby and they allow you to bring in your catch of the day and prepare it for you, adding a side of garlic potatoes and fresh green beans!  Just to top things off, there was a string quartet performing in the sunroom that evening!

Weather was a little on the chilly side and many of the days brought scattered raindrops our way, but it didn’t really slow us down!  In fact, one of our favorite hikes left from Artist Point in Canyon Village and went to Point Sublime (we did take a short detour to check out Lily Pad Lake at Josh’s request!).  This trail followed along the edge of what is referred to as the “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone”!  The views were spectacular!

Lunch time!

The iconic 308-foot Lower Falls at Artist Point

It was about an hour drive from Fishing Bridge to see Old Faithful, but you simply can’t visit Yellowstone without seeing this park’s world-famous icon!  Today, Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes, rain or shine!  There is so much to see and do in this area of the park that we made a couple of trips there.  The first day we were there, in addition to viewing Old Faithful’s eruption, we hiked from the Fairy Falls parking lot, up to the Grand Prismatic Overlook and out to Fairy Falls.  This five-mile trail was another one of our favorites.  The stunning colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring were so vibrant when viewed from the overlook! 

The falls themselves were another treat!  Just when we were getting a little tired of batting mosquitos off of each other, the trail opened up to one of Yellowstone’s most spectacular waterfalls.  This 200-foot high waterfall takes your breath away!

For our 2nd trip to Old Faithful, we once again watched her erupt.  This time we viewed it from inside the Old Faithful Lodge, as it was pouring down rain!  The rain let up just in time for us to hike the 3-mile boardwalk trail that winds its way along Yellowstone’s (as well as the world’s!) highest concentration of hydrothermal features.  We strolled past numerous hot springs, fumaroles, mudpots and geysers!  The grand prize, at the far point of the trail, was viewing Morning Glory!  Words can’t describe the stunning array of colors you see in this pool!

Morning Glory!

You can’t talk about Yellowstone without talking about its wildlife!  We took the advice we got from several people and spent a day driving through Lamar Valley to see what we could see.  We didn’t get there early enough (it was about an hour and a half drive there) to see wolves, but we did see plenty of bison, prong horn antelope, and two black bears (one black and one brown)!  On other days, we saw a grizzly bear (Raspberry) and her cub (Jam) as well as a fox, a heard of elk, bald eagles, and a few deer – all from a safe distance!  We never went anywhere without our bear spray – and, fortunately, never encountered anything close enough we needed to use it!

Disclaimer:  No bison was touched in the choreographing of this photo!

Not far from the beginning of Lamar Valley there is a petrified tree!  Early in the park’s history, there were three of these 50-million-year-old pieces of what is now rock.  Unfortunately, over the years, visitors chipped away chunks of the petrified trees to take home as souvenirs.   Seriously, what is wrong with people?  Although the one remaining tree is gated off, it is still pretty cool to see!

We often spent long days exploring Yellowstone’s amazing features.  With that, combined with damp weather, we didn’t manage to fit in any evening campfires.  We did sneak in a Yahtzee game though!  I hate to admit it, but the kiddos outlasted me in energy and I had to call a break on the game before we finished it!  We saved the score cards and will finish it another time.  Bedtime was calling my name!

Saying goodbye to Brandon and his family has never been harder.  The only consolation is we plan to spend a couple of weeks at their house later in July.  As tiring as our time together was, you just can’t beat spending time with grandkids!  Yellowstone and all of its incredible diversity proved to be a good distraction for us.  On our way out the north entrance of the park after breaking camp, we saw more black bears.  This time a baby and her momma!  We also stopped at Mammoth Springs for a quick peak.  This stunning white feature definitely deserves a better look than what we had time to give it.  Next time – right?

Mammoth Springs

A year ago, Yellowstone experienced a major flood and all of its destructive force.  Most of the damage was done to the north side of the park, although we did see some of the damage as we toured Lamar Valley.  Yellowstone has done an amazing job of putting itself back together, making it once again very accessible.  This being said, the work does continue!

No one warned us about this bridge!

At the north entrance to Yellowstone, we found the famous Roosevelt Arch constructed in 1903. It served as another good distraction for no longer having Zoe singing songs to me, Josh playing Octordle with me, and Eva making rubber band bracelets for me!  I just had to keep telling myself it wasn’t goodbye, it was, “See you soon!”

Roosevelt Arch in the background on the right.

Up Next:  Glacier NP!